Run Away When You Have To
by CrossoverWriterrr
Summary: Norway and Iceland finally get tired of living with their abusive father and run away. On their way to a new place, they meet some new people, nations, like them. Of course, Norway has some trust issues and won't travel with these new people. EDIT: Re-continuing this story! Please support me, I need it !
1. Chapter 1

Run Away if You Have to, Especially if You Have an Abusive Father

Made by: Me

Alright, this is based off of a dream that I had last night, so hope you enjoy! Iceland is ten and Norway is twelve in this one. Don't worry that bad things are going to happen to them, they'll get out of it! :D

I walked through the large, golden doors to my father's big, expensive-looking house with my little brother, know what would happen if we came in late.

"Don't worry, if he tries to hurt you, then I will protect you," I said, looking down to the white-haired boy, who stared back with large, innocent, violet eyes.

"Yes, big brother," he said, nodding vigorously.

"No need to be so formal-like with me, for I won't hurt you like father would." I placed my finger to his lips as we walked further in and neared my father.

"Ah, your back!" my dad said in a cheerful tone that I knew was fake. "Now go to your room and clean up the mess that you made!"

"Yes sir," me and my younger brother said in unison, for we knew what would happen if we disobeyed.

Our grandmother had already disobeyed once. That first time, she got beaten. Next time, she did it to protect us. Then he shot her and she died hearing him laugh hysterically. Our stepmother had disobeyed. He beat her to death the first time. Our mother didn't have to face that, she died in a nursery fire.

We walked up the stairs quietly. Our father didn't like it when we made much ruckus.

I led my brother into our shared bedroom and looked at the mess that we didn't make.

"Father, we didn't make this mess!" I said to him, walking to the stairs.

"Really? Then what did, a ghost? Did the trash just get up and walk around your room, making a mess of it's own?" he retorted.

"No! We went outside and mowed the lawn, remember?"

"Duh, of course I do! You two idiots must have stayed up last night and made that mess!"

"No we didn't! We go to bed on time!"

"Yeah right! Now clean your fucking room!"

"We didn't make that mess!"

"Are you just going to live in that garbage then?"

"Why don't you come up here and clean it yourself, you low-life!"

That was it. I had pissed him off big time. He came up the stairs at great speed and slapped me across the face, on the side that he always hit me on. I looked up at him, not regretting a word that I said, with a defiant facial expression.

"Clean your damn room!" he shouted.

"You do it! You probably made the mess yourself just to make us have to clean it up!" I said back, not with quite as much volume as him.

He slapped me again, on the same cheek.

My eyes welled up with tears, as he had hit me harder. I turned tail on him and ran into the room that I shared with my little brother and slammed the door, locking it behind my back. My brother was staring at me with concern sparkling in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, at least he didn't beat me to death or shoot me or stab me," I said. "Don't worry, Iceland. We'll get out of this hell-hole soon enough."

He nodded and scrambled up, running up to me and wrapping his arms around me. I hugged him back, tears falling from my eyes now.

I pushed him away gently and smiled a small smile to him, though it hurt my cheek.

"We have to clean this mess up before that man sees that there is still a mess in here," I said, tapping his nose lightly.

He giggled and ran to the center of the room, picking up some of my books and putting them into the bookshelf. I walked to where he was and picked up his stuffed puffin and placed it on his bed. I then grabbed my stuffed bunny that was colored pink and placed it on my bed. Of course, we had bought those for each other out of the love of our hearts and hid them from our father, who would just tear the poor stuffed toys' heads off and throw them in the trash. I then picked up the papers and books that Iceland used for drawing and references and put the books away into the bookshelf. The papers, I put in a sack that we had and put the sack into a closet.

After a few minutes of cleaning, we had finished and were walking out of the room to tell our father that we had finished.

"Father!" I said.

"What do you want!" he asked, obviously still irritated with me.

"We've finished."

"Good. Now cook some dinner."

"We've got bread in the pantry and cheese in the fridge! Why don't you eat that while we buy some food?"

"No! That isn't a very good dinner! Find something and cook it, now!"

"There _is_ nothing!"

"Then find something!"

"No! We will buy some food!"

"Lukas Bondevik Steilsson!"

"What?"

Suddenly, he was walking over to me. My eyes widened as he reached out and grabbed a handful of my blond hair and ripped the cross-shaped hair pin that I used to hold my hair back out of my hair. It pulled a bit of hair out of my head, but not much. I winced and whimpered in pain as he then dragged me away by my hair. I looked back and saw little Iceland reach down and pick up the hair pin with care as he started to cry. This time, I couldn't reassure him. Tears were falling from my eyes and I sobbed loudly, afraid of losing my life to this bastard.

He dragged me to the kitchen and threw me onto the ground. I hit my head on the wall and yelped out in pain.

"Take it! Take the pain like a man!" he shouted. "Now cook me some damn dinner and then go to bed!"

"No!" I shouted. "I'm not doing anything for an old man who killed my family members right in front of me and my little brother and hurt me in front of him! What's next, are you going to stab me to death!"

He gritted his teeth and then kicked me in the ribs.

I screamed and coughed blood out of my mouth as a sickening snap was heard from my ribs. I looked up and saw a flash of white hair behind my father. He was then hit in the back with a bat. He fell over. I realized that Iceland had knocked him out to save me.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around my brother, whispering words of thanks to him. I then moved back and grabbed him gently by the cheeks to look him in the eyes, after one glance, I hugged him again and started to sob. I felt him put my hair pin back into my hair.

I moved back and wiped my tears off of my eyes and cheeks. I then held my hand out to him, which he grabbed willingly.

"Come, we must pack some food, lots of water and special belongings so that we can run away," I said.

Iceland nodded and we went to our room, getting bags and putting special belongings into them such as a few books, the stuffed toys that we had given each other, some clothes, bathroom things like tooth brushes, combs, soap for our bodies and hair, and toothpaste. We then went to the kitchen, stepped over our unconscious father, got a whole bunch of water and some food; we could survive without much food so we brought enough for once a week type of eating. We couldn't survive long without water because we would get dehydrated kind of fast, so we brought a WHOLE bunch of water.

We walked to the front door and were surprised to see our grandmother and step mother standing there, waiting for us.

"M-Mom? Grandma?" I asked.

"Yes, we came to guide you. Your real mother will be hear soon," said our grandma.

"We were expecting you two to do this sometime. I am really your aunt, your mother died in a fire Iceland," said our mom's twin sister.

We both nodded. My eyes widened as a figure started to slowly appear. It was our real mother.

"Mom!" I said. She wrapped both me and Iceland into a hug, which we gave back willingly.

"Come, we must go now, little ones," our mom said in her honey-sweet voice.

We walked out of the large, expansive-looking house and looked up at the angel statue in front of it. It was posed in a praying position and it slowly started to move it's lips.

"It's giving us a blessing because you boys are so good. How about that?" our aunt said, smiling.

Iceland smiled his innocent and sweet smile while I just held him close to me in a protective fashion, staring down at my feet.

We rushed down the sidewalk and across the street where everyone was walking and started towards the desert.


	2. Chapter 2

We were nearly ten minutes from the desert and I already had to carry Iceland. He said he was hot and complained that his feet hurt so I just volunteered to carry him. Now I was getting tired but I wouldn't stop to rest until we were actually in the desert. Well, maybe just a bit later so that I could ensure that we had a shelter and safety.

"How long was I gone? You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you, my dear!" my mother said.

"Twelve... Twelve years since you last saw me... And I'm not as tall as some of the... Twelve year old's that I've seen..." I huffed, feeling exhausted and breathing hard.

"How about you let me carry your brother, then you will have less weight on your back," my aunt said.

I shook my head, unable to talk due to breathing so heavily.

"But you're hurt, you should really let me carry him so that you don't end up hurting yourself," my aunt insisted.

"Ugh... Fine!" my voice came out raspy as I spoke those two words.

My aunt gently lifted Iceland off of my back and cradled him in her arms. She was a witch, just like my mother and grandmother. I turned out to be the only child who inherited that trait, despite looking more like my father than my mother. I was also the only one who seemed to be able to see fairies and other mystical creatures, just like my mom, aunt, and grandmother. Iceland had white hair, just like our mom. I had blond hair, like our dad. I had blue eyes, like my mom, but they were just slightly more clouded and dull than hers. Iceland had gotten his violet eyes from our dad, they shined and sparkled in a more innocent way though. We both had pale skin and were short and skinny, like our mom.

I reached into the back pack that we took along with us and pulled out a water bottle. Already, I was sweating and huffing, as well as my throat being dry. I was slouching as well, due to how tired I was. I opened the water bottle and drank some of it. I then straightened my back and continued walking. Sure, I was extremely tired from this movement, but I didn't regret a thing. Not running away, not anything.

* * *

We had been walking for about three more hours or so, I couldn't tell. We were a good ways into the desert and setting up a place to sleep. I had used my magic to make my relatives and myself invisible so we wouldn't be noticed my predators and dug a hole in the ground to sleep in. I then placed some leaves from a random forest that was probably made by fairies nearby into the hole and we place Iceland into it. I kept watch for a bit and then laid in the hole myself, falling into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, due to the heat of the sun pounding down on me. Apparently, Iceland had woken up for the same reason.

"Good morning," I said monotonously, and was surprised at how I sounded. There was no emotion at all in my voice, even though I was frightened out of my mind because I realized that the spell that I used last night wore off. I was more frightened for Iceland than myself, just because he was an easy target.

"Uh, good morning," Iceland said, apparently as surprised as I was about my emotionless tone of voice.

"How did you sleep?" Still with the same tone of voice.

"Fine, you?"

"Horrible."

"Why?"

"It was a very uncomfortable sleep and there was no dream, just the screams of loved ones, including you..."

Instead of saying anything, Iceland wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Even through your mask that developed when after Grandma died, I can still tell that you are sad. Don't be sad, okay big brother?" Iceland murmured.

"Y-yeah," I muttered, tears threatening to spill over.

Iceland reached up and gently touched my swollen cheek, wiping away a tear that had fallen out of my eye. Instead of saying anything to comfort me, he started crying as well, so I wrapped my arms around him and he wrapped his back around me. After a little while of us crying, we wiped away each others tears, stood up, grabbed our bag, and were about to continue our journey when three spirits flew towards us on brooms.

"The forest! It's moved!" my aunt said frantically.

"Yes, yes! It's moved far away!" my grandma agreed.

"It's too dangerous to go alone! Take this!" my mom said, holding out and herbal drink that helped increase strength and speed.

I took the bottle willingly and bowed my head in a silent thanks.

"Do we drink it now?" Iceland asked, innocent, violet eyes looking up to our mother with curiosity.

She nodded and we drank the potion, Iceland making his 'ick' face after wards, which I then giggled quietly about.

"How long will it last?" I asked.

"As long as needed," said my mom. "But, when you get to your destination and it wares off, you will feel as exhausted as your body actually feels."

"Well, when we get to our destination, I'm gonna shower and then go to sleep," I replied.

"Me too," Iceland said, clinging to my arm.

She nodded and we started off to continue our journey.

There were plenty of cacti around and some hawks flying around, but no predators so far. We had run into a poisonous snake, which I killed with much hurry, so nobody got bitten by it or anything.

After a few hours of walking, we saw a few merchants that were across a crack in the earth.

"You should go buy something," my grandma said.

I nodded and ran up to the crack and, upon realizing that it was much bigger than I suspected, used all of my leg power to jump it.

I walked to the merchants casually.

"Excuse me," I murmured.

They turned around; there were two of them, one with long, dark brown hair that was in a pony tail and slung over one shoulder and had olive green eyes. He had no bangs, the little bit of hair that he had that did hang in front of his face was on both sides of his rounded, feminine face. The other had dark brown hair that was shorter and in the same style as the other male's hair in the front, except for it was swept back in the middle. His eyes were a chocolate brown and had slightly thick eyebrows that were turned down into a frowning position, except he was smiling brightly. He also had a curl that was much like my own, except for it was on the front of his head and it had the same facial expression as him. They had a horse with them and the male with short hair was carrying a bag on his back; he seemed manly.

"Yes aru?" asked the long haired one.

"Well, uh..." my eyebrow twitched a little upon seeing the one with short hair smile and even bigger smile to me. "My brother is starting to get one of his high fevers-" Norway looked back at his brother, who's face was paling and his cheeks and nose were turning red as he stood across from the crack in the earth. He started to sway as well. "do you happen to have any sort of medicine to help his fever go down?"

"Sure aru," the male said. "My name is China, by the way. This is my traveling companion, Korea aru."

I was a little hesitant on telling them my name, especially with the creeper smile Korea was giving me.

"I'm Norway," I said, finally analyzing that they seemed to be the same age as me and deciding to go with it.

"Nice to meet you da ze!" Korea said, suddenly pouncing me and giving him a bear hug.

"What the hell are you doing! Get off of me!" I shouted, slapping the big and buff male in the face while I was flailing my arms in a desperate attempt to get him off of me, not only to mind my personal space but to be able to breathe again!

"Get off of him and stop jumping around, you'll break all of the stuff we can sell aru!" China said, slapping Korea on the back of his head.

Korea got off of me, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.

"Ugh," I grunted, gasping for breath and feeling my chest to see if it was still wrapped tightly. "You could have unwrapped my bandage, you idiot!" I then slapped him again and looked at China, giving him a look of thanks.

China reached into the bag that Korea was holding and pulled some medicine out.

"Here aru," he said, holding the bottle of medicine out to me.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the bottle.

"Where are you headed to da ze?" Korea asked, smiling again.

"A nearby town," I mumbled in response.

"Hey! Us too da ze!"

"Well, if you think that I'll travel with you, then no," I said, irritation running up my spine.

"Aw... Why da ze?" Korea pouted again.

"Because you are an idiot, I mean, I like China, he at least doesn't tackle and hug random strangers. I especially don't like you because you hurt me."

"What? How da ze?"

"You squeezed my ribs, which are broken. Just FYI."

"Oh, sorry da ze."

"Whatever."

I turned and started walking away.

"Wait aru! It's dangerous out there, you may need someone to help you fight aru!" China interrupted me.

"Sorry, but I think not. I can fight on my own, thank you very much," I said, still a bit irritated with Korea.

I didn't let him say anything else, as I had already paid him, and jumped over the crack in the ground again. I caught Iceland as he fell and crouched down, leaning him against my chest.

"Iceland, I know how high your temperatures get, so don't let that volcano make your temperature go that high today, okay?" I murmured into his ear.

Iceland fidgeted a little and looked up at me with his large, innocent eyes. He then glanced down at the bottle that I held in my hand and smiled. I looked at it and opened it, pouring some into the little cup the was on the top and giving it to him to drink. He took it willingly and drank it.

I held my hands out and shut my eyes. Seconds later a blue bag formed in my hands filled with some of my land's northern snow. The bag was used to make his fever go down quicker, usually in a day or less. He would be left with a low cold then. I lifted Iceland up into my arms and placed the bag on his forehead. The snow wouldn't melt until two weeks later.

I looked to the fairies that flew over to me and smiled as they lifted me up and carried me over the large crack in the ground. I lifted one of my legs and let the other fall to the ground softly. They smiled and let go of me, letting me stand on my own. I whispered a soft farewell to them as they fluttered away.

I started walking again, listening to Iceland's soft coughing with sorrow rising up in my gut. I looked up to see the forest that my relatives spoke of. I walked into it and noticed almost immediately some fairies fluttering by. I looked to Svalbard, who had just flown around my head and stayed there, and nodded to a hole in the ground that had some leaves hovering over it like a tent. The giant troll lifted Iceland out of my arms and carried him to the area in which I motioned to and laid him in the hole, the leaves closing over the small boy and sheltering him. Svalbard then stayed floating by him, standing guard.

I walked around, nodding to each fairy that I saw flutter by me. Some flew up to me, holding some berries that might help Iceland's fever go down.

"Thanks," I said, taking the berries from their tiny hands with much care, making sure that I wouldn't hurt them or crush the berries.

They nodded and flew away. I then turned around and walked back to where Iceland was sleeping and pushed the berries in so that they were laying next to him.

I looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was setting in the horizon and climbed up a tree, deciding to watch the peaceful sunset. It seemed that the fairies liked the sunset too because they flew to me and watched it with me.

When it finally set, I went to the camp and laid down next to my younger brother, falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When I awoke, I stretched and let out a loud noise while yawning that I hoped nobody heard. I looked to my side to see that Iceland had woken up right when I did and was looking back up at me.

"Morning," I said.

"Good morning," he said, laughing a little and rubbing his eyes.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked humorously and started to tickle him.

"Y-you! You screamed _really_ loud when you stretched!" he yelled, laughing really loud and kicking his feet.

I heard walking towards where we were sleeping and saw a shadow approach the den and stopped tickling my little brother, facial expression turning back to serious. I reached up and moved the leaf that kept our den shut over a little, opening our "tent" made out of leaves.

Standing right in front of the "tent" was a boy about Iceland's age. He had brown hair that was swept to one side and sat on his face as well as two bits of hair framing the sides of his face. His chocolate brown eyes observed us with curiosity, one thick eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Who are you?" I asked monotonously.

"... Hong Kong... What's going on in here?" he asked, voice sounding almost exactly the same as mine.

"Nothing you need to know of. Do you know the nearest town we could go?"

"Uh... Yeah, I suppose. Tell me who you are and I'll help you to the city."

"... I'm Norway and this is my brother, Iceland."

"I didn't even see your brother...!" The corners of his lips quirked up into a small smile, his eyebrow lowering to its original place as he let out a small chuckle. "He's cute."

I glanced back at Iceland to see him turn beet red.

"I-I'm not cute!" he said, voice quiet.

"Sure you are. Now come on, do you need help carrying your things?" Hong Kong asked.

"No thank you. We can manage on our own, " I muttered in response.

"I wasn't asking _you_. I was asking your brother."

"Too bad. We can manage on our own."

"Then I guess you don't need help to the city, right?"

"No! We need help there!"

Hong Kong held his hand out to Iceland for some of his things. I slapped his hand away and looked at Iceland.

"Don't be too friendly with him. He called you... He called you _cute_!" I advised.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," Hong Kong said with amusement flickering in his eyes, corners of his lips quirking upward once again. "Besides, I was only voicing my honest opinion."

"Whatever. Come on." I rolled my eyes and made my way around the Asian.

"Aw... But I want to help you to the city!" Hong Kong whined, following after us.

"Then do, but this time without hitting on my brother. What are you, gay? Because my brother is straight," I retorted.

Hong Kong walked in front of us.

"Look out for the bandits that will try shooting at you," Hong Kong murmured.

"How did you get past them?" Iceland asked.

"I ran."

"But... You wouldn't be fast enough to run past them without getting shot!"

"Watch and learn."

Hong Kong bolted off, easily getting past the bandits without notice.

I rolled my eyes.

"Show off, he's only trying to impress you," I muttered.

When I looked at my brother, he was staring after Hong Kong in awe.

I face palmed internally, muttering under my breath in my native language. I then lifted my hand and glared at the bandits. A glow started to form right above my hand and started blowing my hair and clothes as it swirled around and stirred up the air. I then thrust my hand to the side and the ball of glowing light flew at the bandits, hitting all of them in success and injuring them greatly.

Now it was Hong Kong's turn to stare at me in awe as Iceland hopped up and down, landing silently and smiling.

I walked over to Hong Kong and hit him on the back.

"Hey! How did you do that!" he asked, astonished.

"I can use magic. How else?" I said matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You're Norway. Then you'll love meeting England and Romania, they can see fairies and use magic and stuff too."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No, no! Why would I do that?"

"Never mind it."

I walked away, still able to hear the other boy's sarcasm in my mind and Iceland followed closely after.

"Don't forget to let your brother visit me!" I heard Hong Kong shout.

"When did I say he could _visit_?" I retorted, not liking this boy at all.

"Okay then!"

I heard a loud explosion and looked back, surprised. Next to Hong Kong, there were fireworks going off and exploding mid-air. I held out a hand, quickly stopping the fireworks.

"What the hell are you _doing_? That's dangerous! It could start a fire!" I shouted.

"Duh! I'm having fun, what does it look like?" Hong Kong spat.

Iceland looked back and forth from one nation to the other, clearly feeling the tension in between us.

"_Girl_!" I said, turning away again.

"What did you just call me?" Hong Kong asked. "Well, if I'm a girl, then you're more of one! I mean, look at those _hips_!"

I could feel my face heating up in anger as he mentioned my feminine figure. Even my teachers had thought that I was a girl and made me wear a girl's uniform to school. Guys even hit on me because of it and it was _embarrassing_.

"I'm not a girl!" I said, clenching my fists.

I heard a slapping sound and one corner of my lip quirked up into a smirk upon realizing that Svalbard had slapped the kid.

I hurriedly walked into the city with Iceland following closely behind and looked around. It was small and cozy looking, people walking around, smiling and laughing as they walked in and out of shops. I turned around and picked Iceland up, not wanting him to get lost in the large crowd and walked to a house. I looked pretty abandoned. We'd move in, clean the place up, and then paint the thing over again. It would be blue on the outside and white on the inside. I carried Iceland to the front step and knocked on the door, not wanting to accidentally break into someone's house and get into trouble.

When there was no answer, I opened the door and walked in. The house was completely empty except for a thick layer of dust on the wooden floor and some cobwebs here and there, but we could manage.

I placed Iceland down and put a stern finger up as I said this:

"We are going to clean this place up. No quitting unless you're either getting sick or in real pain, okay?"

He nodded and I took my back pack off, opening it and rummaging around in it to see if we had brought any dusters. When I found none, I looked at Iceland.

"You stay here. I'm gonna go out and buy us some dusters to clean up with as well as mops, a broom, some furniture, painting supplies, and look for a job. Just wait, don't get the door for anyone and keep the doors and windows locked. Keep the curtains closed too, okay? Call me if something goes wrong and I'll be here right away," I said, knowing Iceland would listen.

Iceland nodded vigorously and I walked out. I went to a cleaning store. Turns out it was the wrong kind of cleaning. It was a hair salon and said "Cleaning Store" on the outside.

"Oh my gawd! You need a hair cut and, like, to get clean!" said a man in a voice laced heavily with a Polish accent. "Like, I can totally help you with that!"

"Uh... I came to the wrong store-" I was then cut off by the Polish.

"No no no. You need to get clean before you can, like totally, go anywhere! You need to, like, look nice for everyone! I'm Poland and, like, I will be your helper today!"

I sighed a heavy sigh of defeat.

"Then can my brother come here and have someone help him get his hair cut too? His hair is too long and is dirty as well," I muttered.

"Go get him and, like, be fast!" Poland said.

I nodded and walked out and to the abandoned house that was right next door. I walked in and picked Iceland up.

"What is it big brother?" he asked.

"I found someone who can help us with our filth and hair," was my only reply and I then walked back into the hair salon.

I set Iceland down and looked to the blond Polish, who stared back with stern, green eyes.

"Ah, wonderful. Come, Liet, we, like, have costumers!" he shouted.

A brown-haired boy came in and looked at me with pleading teal eyes. He must have been pleading for freedom. He walked over to us and looked to Poland.

"Which do I serve?" he asked in a polite voice.

"The white-haired one. I will, like, serve the blond," Poland replied. "Now, go Lithuania. Don't want to keep our guests waiting, like, all day!"

Lithuania motion for Iceland to follow him and Iceland gave me a doubting look. I nodded to urge him to follow, which he did quickly. Poland walked over to me and grabbed my hand and pulled my to a bathroom. He then motioned to the shower that was in there.

"Take a shower before I cut that beautiful hair," he said.

I walked into the shower, turning red upon what he had just said and closed the curtains, removing my clothes and quickly taking a shower. I then wrapped a towel around my waist and peeked out.

"Here are some, like, really cute clothes for you to wear cutie!" Poland said, holding out a pink and red, plaid skirt with a long sleeved shirt that matched it perfectly.

"Uh, are you sure I should put that on?" I asked, blushing even harder.

"Of course you should, you will look, like, absolutely adorable! I will put your clothes in the wash and be right with you!" Poland placed the clothes up and put matching underwear with them and grabbed my clothes, walking out with them and humming.

I reluctantly put the clothes on and stood there, staring at myself in the mirror.

"I look... Ridiculous..." I muttered.

I looked back at the door where Poland walked in with a pair of hair-cutting scissors and a bow that matched the skirt that I was wearing. He then put something over my shoulders and cut my hair the way I would like it, bangs long and hanging slightly over my eyes and the back of my hair short and slightly layered. He then pinned the side of my bangs up the I always pinned up. I snagged up my cross hair pin and stared at him.

"When will I be able to take this off?" I asked.

"Oh, you look, like, totally adorable! You should wear it all day! I'll even give you a blue pair so that you can, like, wear that too!" Poland said.

"But I like to dress as a guy, what I really am! I will be out there advertising that I'd like some guy to come along and take me out to dinner!" I said.

"Okay, fine. I will, like, give you your clothes when they've finished washing."

"Thank you."

Poland lead me out of the bathroom and I came face to face with my little brother, who was wearing a pink ruffled skirt with a matching pink top, which Poland had probably picked out as well as a bow that matched his outfit and probably some underwear that would match.

We were both blushing by now.

"Come on, I need to buy some things and then I'll go back home with our regular clothes," I whispered to Iceland in a quiet voice. "Now you will probably want to bolt the doors and windows closed. Hurry and do that, I will be right back and you know all the other rules to follow while I'm gone."

Iceland nodded and ran inside. Soon after, I noticed that the windows, which I could see, were bolted shut and the curtains were closed.

I walked away from the house and to a store that held cleaning supplies. I browsed isle by isle and found the things I needed as well as trash bags and a very good trash can. I then went to the front desk and bought them, due to being previously rich, I could afford anything and go without a job for a while. Of course, the man at the cash register thought that I was a female because of the thing Poland had made me wear and caught an interest in me.

I sighed and walked out, holding several bags. A man then walked up to me, walking by my side. He was blond and his hair defied gravity completely, sticking out on all sides. He looked down at me and his already present smile grew wider.

"Need help carrying your stuff?" he asked. "You have a lot to carry."

"Don't tell me that you think that I'm female too..." I growled.

"No, I don't. I... I don't know how I can tell that you're male, but it just shows, even in your feminine body and face..."

"Ugh, will people stop saying that about me?"

"You don't like that? I thought you would take it as a compliment..."

"No! I hate being called feminine!"

"Well, would you like help? I'm Denmark! What's your name?"

"Norway."

I handed the tall, muscular guy my bags and stared straight ahead, not daring to meet that idiotic smile of his.

"I'd like you visit you sometime. Are you new?" Denmark asked.

"I'm new, but if you want to visit me then how about today and you can help me and my brother clean up the house we've just moved into and install some lighting and stuff. That would be very helpful," I replied.

"Don't you have parents who can help you?"

"No."

"What happened that made you run away?"

"You can't just hear that someone has no parents and assume that they ran away!"

"Oh, sorry. So... They died?"

"Shut up. Just come over today and help us with the cleaning and stuff."

"Okay! Anything for you!"

"You've only just met me!"

We walked into a housing store and went immediately to the paint section.

"Sorry, it's just that... I like you..."

"Awesome, another gay guy."

"Hey, I didn't start out gay! It's just that you're an oddly attractive boy!"

"Whatever."

I picked out the paint colors that I wanted and bought them as well as some paint brushes and paint rollers. We then left and made our way to the furniture store.

"Hey, how do you even have so much money? I mean, you've just moved here and have no job, so you can't possibly have this much money, right?"

"My father was rich and we took all the money we might need before running away."

I covered my mouth and glanced to the Dane, wondering if his brain had even processed the fact that me and Iceland ran away.

"Oh.. I see. But why did you run away?"

"For reasons you wouldn't understand and would never understand."

"Aw... Tell me, please?"

"No."

I picked out the furniture that I would want and ordered some of it for delivery and some of it we took to my home together.

I knocked on the front door. A little bit later, it opened and Iceland stood there, staring at Denmark with confusion.

"He was kind enough to help me carry my stuff," I said, motioning to the Dane who was holding everything that we had bought.

Iceland then burst into laughter.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Denmark asked, smiling brightly himself.

"He looks funny, carrying all that stuff with his gravity-defying hair and everything!" Iceland said.

"Don't be so rude," I said, patting Iceland's head lightly.

I looked to Denmark to see that he was still smiling idiotically.


	4. Chapter 4

_'He smiles too much,'_ I thought and looked down at my skirt in embarrassment.

"Oh my god! I forgot to get our clothes and the sun is setting!" I said, bolting off to the salon.

I looked to the Polish standing at the counter and said his name loudly.

"Yeah?" he looked at me with a smile and his stern eyes slightly wide.

"My brother and my own clothes, have they finished washing?" I asked.

"Oh, those. Yes, and drying too. Here." He held out our clothes as well as another pair of shirts and skirts, one set was purple and the other blue.

"... Thanks..."

"No problem!"

I took the clothes and went back home, looking to the Dane who still stood in front of our unclean house and then to Iceland who stood at the door still, staring at me with surprise echoing in his eyes, though fading.

"Here are your clothes as well as another set of shirt and skirt from Poland," I murmured. "You, come inside and start cleaning while Iceland and I change." I looked to Denmark.

"Aw... But I want to see you clean in that!" Denmark whined.

"Fine..."

I walked inside and grabbed a mop from one of the bags and wet it with soap, placing it on the floor and pushing and pulling it to clean the floor while Iceland ran out of the room and upstairs. I glanced up to see Denmark watching with much perversion.

I lifted the mop and held it by the cleaning end and hit Denmark so hard across the face that he spat up blood. Then, that reminded me of my own aching cheek and jaw. I dropped the mop and reached up to hold my bruises and broken ribs. Upon seeing that, Denmark gave me a funny look and then slapped himself lightly on the cheek.

"I can't believe that I didn't notice that the whole time that I was hanging with you! What happened Norgie baby?" he asked.

"Nothing and don't call me that. It's Norway. Nor. Way," I said irritably.

"Clearly, 'nothing' didn't happen, seeing as you're holding hurting parts on your body."

"Well, then why don't you never mind it and mind your own business."

"Aw... Please Norgie love? I'd like to know!"

"Just... Just get back to cleaning...!"

I turned away from him and picked up the mop that I had been using and started cleaning again.

"And if you can't help me then you will be getting the hell out of my house," I added.

I heard Denmark pick up a mop, dip it in some water, and start cleaning as well and one corner of my lip quirked up in satisfaction.

Iceland ran back in with his own clothes on and grabbed a mop, only to stop in his tracks when he noticed that I was still wearing the skirt.

"Why are you still wearing that?" he asked in confusion.

"Uh.. Um..." I stuttered.

"Because I asked him to!" Denmark interrupted.

"Whaat? You kept it on for _this_ idiot?" Iceland asked in surprise.

"Okay! Yes, I did!" I said.

"Why?"

"I... I _don't_ know!"

I grabbed Iceland gently, yet firmly, by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

"I know that you were lying," Iceland said quietly once we were out of the room.

"Yeah, I'll tell you the truth, though I'm not willing to acknowledge it myself," I said, remembering that Iceland could see right through my mask and hear my feelings right through my monotone voice. "I... I think that I'm... In love with... With that _idiot_. He didn't try to run away when I put him down and insulted him. He didn't get upset when I didn't tell him something or when I told him to stop doing or calling me something and... And he keeps on _calling_ me it!" My eyebrow twitched with irritation. "It doesn't _really_ bother me though. It does just a bit."

"Well, you can't keep that feeling hidden forever, you know that right?"

"Yeah. I will tell him in years to come."

"Okay."

Iceland and I walked out of the room we were in and I grabbed the mop I had been using and started cleaning again.

"Clean Danmark!" I said with sternness.

"Okay!" Denmark replied.

I heard Iceland and Denmark start cleaning. I smirked in satisfaction.

_'If we keep on cleaning like this then we will get the house clean in no time,'_ I thought.

"No breaks unless you get sick or are in real pain, like a sprained ankle or something like that or severe bleeding. A hurting back will _not_ get you out of this job because we need a house to live in!" I instructed while cleaning. "Not even _I_ will get a break!"

"Sir!" Denmark said.

"Yes big brother!" Iceland said. "You don't need to address him like that, idiot!"

"Aw... Norge, your little brother is so mean~!" Denmark complained.

"No complaining about my lillebror!" I said sternly.

"Fine..."

We continued cleaning for seven hours straight when I heard a loud growling noise come from Denmark.

"Even your _stomach_ is loud!" I said, wiping sweat from my forehead.

By now, we had already cleaned the entire first floor and were working on the second floor, which we were mostly done with. We would then get the basement.

"Aw~! But I'm _hungry_!" Denmark said, pouting.

"Fine, we'll get something to eat. But right to cleaning after wards."

"Yay!"

"We will all need showers first."

"Okay!"

Iceland, Denmark, and I all went to separate bathrooms and took quick showers, all emerging from the bathrooms at the same time. Iceland and I were in our normal clothes, as well as Denmark.

We walked to a place to eat and ate quickly, paying and taking our leave.

"My muscles hurt..." Denmark complained.

"I'd bet Iceland's hurt too, do you see him complaining?" I retorted.

"... No..." Denmark stuck his bottom lip out in a pout.

"You know who whines?"

"Who?"

"Babies."

Denmark turned away from me, giggling slightly.

"You seem like some big, tough guy but you're really a baby deep inside, huh?"

"Maybe I am!"

Poland ran up to us, dragging Lithuania along with him by the hand.

"I heard you were, like, cleaning your entire house! Do you, like, want some extra help? We, like, totally closed our shop to help you!" Poland said, pushing his hair over his shoulder.

"We would greatly appreciate the extra help, especially since we need to instal lighting, paint the inside and outside or the house, clean the rest of the upstairs and then the basement of our house, and put out furniture," I said.

"Omg, like, we will _totally_ help! You know who is, like, totally helpful when it comes to cleaning?"

"Who?"

"Japan, China, Germany, and Italy!"

"Will we be able to get them to help us?"

"Of course! Like, we just need to go to their houses and ask them to help us! Then, like, tell them that you've done a lot of the cleaning by yourself and, like, totally hurt and they will, like, come to help us!"

"Will you show us where they live? Oh, and we also need to remove bug and rat nests and chase out bugs and rats. Then we'll be done."

"Ew! Like, totally gross! I will _not_ be helping you that part, like, at all! Anyway, like, follow me!"

Poland skipped away and we all followed. We went to three houses and all of the people said that they would help. Italy had called back to someone and told them that he would be helping someone clean and would be right back, Germany told someone that he was leaving and for them to behave, and Japan and China told two people that they were going to leave and instructed them on where to find the food for dinner and how to cook it and then when to go to bed.

"So, your the one that I met out in the desert, ya?" I asked China.

"Oh yeah, aru! It's you! Norway, you just moved into here, aru?" China replied.

"Ya."

"This is my brother, aru. His name, as you may know, is Japan, aru. Korea and North Korea are my cousins and Hong Kong is my other brother, aru."

"Oh... Hong Kong... He was the one who led us here but he decided to be rude and kept on hitting on my little brother."

"Oh no, aru! Hong Kong is always getting himself into trouble, aru. Don't mind him hitting on your brother, he's actually very kind and won't do anything bad to him, aru."

"Good."

"Kon'nichiwa, I am Japan. Your name is Norway-san, am I correct?" Japan said, looking at me.

"Ya, I am Norway. This is my little brother, Iceland and this is my new-found friend, Danmark. Danmark actually agreed to help me clean my house, just as you have," I replied.

"Nice to meet you Norway-san, Iceland-kun, and Denmark-san."

"Nice to meet you, too Japan."

Japan nodded and looked to his brother.

"Ciao! You're Norway! I'm Italy!" Italy said in a very hyper tone.

"Hallo. The house is very dirty because it seemed to be inhabited when we moved in. Nice to meet you Italy," I replied.

Italy nodded and looked at Germany, pulling on his sleeve and saying something while pointing to me.

"Ja Italy, I know," the tall German said, seemingly annoyed. Germany then looked to me and said, "Hallo, I am Germany. You must be Norway. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Germany," I said.

Then I looked at China. He was speaking with his brother in a quiet tone of voice.

"China," I said.

"Yes, aru?" China said, looking at me with wide, olive green eyes.

"Sorry about the desert."

"It's fine, aru. You seem to have something troubling you, so it is a forgiven action. If that were to happen more than once, then you would not be forgiven, aru."

"You seem wise."

"I am the oldest of nations, aru. It's nice for you to notice, most people don't, aru."

I nodded and walked into the house, everyone else following.

"Your house is dark! You seem to have already cleaned the first floor and stairs!" Italy exclaimed. "All by yourself too!"

"Ya, it was a tough job but we survived. We have the top floor and the basement to do. We then need to chase out bugs and mice and clean out bug and mice nests. Then we will paint the inside and outside of the house and then put furniture and lights out. Then we will instal lighting, all in that order," I replied.

"Ooh, a _lot_ of work!" Italy seemed to be astonished.

"Ya. Now let's get to work. Each of you gets a mop. Split up, some of us upstairs and others in the basement."

Everyone nodded. Germany, Italy, Iceland, and Denmark walked to my side. China, Poland, Lithuania, and Japan were going to go upstairs while us others went to the basement.

Instantly, everyone in the basement was thoroughly cleaning and scrubbing at the floor.

Five hours later, we finished the basement and went to the main floor. China, Poland, Lithuania, and Japan walked downstairs to our sides.

"Now it is time to chase out bugs and mice and clean out their nests. Search everywhere and use brooms to chase them out of open doors," I instructed.

Everyone nodded and grabbed brooms and this time, we were in smaller groups to go to each floor:

Germany, Italy, and Japan to the basement; China, Japan, and Lithuania to the main floor; Denmark, Iceland, and I to the top floor; as Poland had said, he wasn't helping and he went outside to his shop and waited there.

It took a long while to get all the little creatures and pests out, but not as long as it did to clean the place up. About two hours and we were finished.

We all met up again and called Poland back in.

"Now we should all take a rest. It's nighttime and we are all tired. We will meet back here tomorrow, if you're available," I said. I could tell that everyone was tired, just by looking at them.

Everyone nodded and thanked me and then left.

"I'll stay with you guys," Denmark said.

"Well, we should go to your house then because our has no beds," I replied.

"Okay!"

Denmark took us to his house and led us to the guest bedroom. There were two beds in the room, a bathroom, and some important things that we would need. Iceland and I had taken our stuffed toys: Iceland's stuffed puffin that he called Mr. Puffin and my pink bunny that I called Cuppy Cakes. We then changed into night shirts and brushed our teeth. I then laid down in the bed that was closest to the closet and bathroom and Iceland laid down in the bed that was closest to the door to our room.

"Good night lillbror," I said.

"Good night," he replied.

We instantly fell asleep, exhausted from a long day's worth of work and I was ready for the next day of cleaning. Well, more of repainting and setting the house up.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke the next day to Denmark yelling from downstairs. He was probably telling us to get up. I looked over to where Iceland was asleep and blinked in curiosity upon not seeing him there.

"Island?" I called, getting out of bed and stepping lightly onto the cold, wooden floor. "Where are you Island?"

"In here," came a muffled Iceland's voice from the bathroom.

"Ah. Well, hurry up, the Danish idiot won't stop yelling at us. Get dressed and brush your teeth and comb your hair. We'll be cleaning again."

"Okay." I heard the rustle of clothes come from the bathroom and then the toilet flush. Iceland then walked out of the bathroom, completely ready.

"Did you get ready before I even told you to?"

Iceland nodded and I walked into the bathroom with my blue sailor outfit and cross-shaped hairpin and got dressed, brushing my teeth and combing my hair. I then walked from the bathroom to downstairs, where Denmark and Iceland were waiting.

"Hey, you finally woke up?" Denmark said.

"Ya," I replied monotonously and looked at Denmark. "If you two have eaten then we will go to clean my house now."

"But you haven't eaten at all yourself!"

"He doesn't eat breakfast, he doesn't need to because he's never hungry," Iceland cut it.

"Really? Okay then let's go!"

We all ran out of Denmark's house and to mine, where we could see the others arriving.

"Hey, have you been waiting long?" Denmark asked once we got there.

All of them shook there heads, there were even a few new people. A blond with shoulder-length hair, glasses, a soft, feminine looking face, gentle, light blue eyes that glinted soft shines as they gazed at me calmly, and a soft smile gracing the facial features. He was wearing a pink jacket with a white shirt under that had a red-orange maple leaf on it with two stripes to the side of it. The shirt was thin-fitting, just as his light blue pants were. He had red and white shoes on his feet. There was another, they looked related, but his hair was shorter, his eyes were a bit of a darker blue that glinted pride as they gazed at me with much energy, and he had an excited smile. He was wearing a red and white striped jacket with a blue shirt under it. His clothes fit him a bit looser than the other boy's clothes did, and his pants were also a darker blue. His shoes were red, white, and blue. The only difference was that the one with longer hair had a curl that hung in front of his face and the other one had a sprout that stuck straight out of the top of his head, right behind that hairline.

"Hello, I'm Canada," said the one with longer hair that was parted down the middle with a soft, honey-smooth voice.

"I'm America! I'm the hero!" said the other, whose hair was parted on the left with a voice that was loud and hurt my ears.

"I am Norway and this is my little brother, Iceland," I replied.

"We're brothers too! We're twins though, you look like you're the older one," Canada said.

"You would be surprised at how much a person's eyes can tell about them. Yes, I am the older one. Do you two get along well?"

"... Yes." Canada had hesitated a bit, telling me exactly that he was lying.

"We get along as well."

"We heard that there were two people who moved in and needed help cleaning their house. Would it be okay if we helped you?"

"Of course, I appreciate your help."

"What do we need to do?"

"Paint the inside and outside of the house, instal lighting, and put furniture up. We also need to instal water-running pipes into the house."

"We're capable of that."

I nodded and led everyone into the house.

"We came here before! It was really dirty and smelled bad! Now it doesn't smell so much and it's cleaner! The walls still look ugly but that will change in a bit, right?" America said, his voice echoing through the empty, two story house.

"Ya," I replied. "Gather some paint brushes and paint rollers; we're getting to work."

Everyone nodded and grabbed one of their own; tall ones grabbing paint brushes and short ones grabbing paint rollers. I was one of the short ones so I grabbed a paint roller.

"Veh~! Are we going to split up~?" Italy asked.

"Ya," I replied. "Some of us will be upstairs, others in the basement, some up here, and the last of us outside."

Everybody nodded and gathered into groups.

Again, I was with Iceland and Denmark; Germany, Japan, and Italy were together; China, Poland, and Lithuania were together; and Canada and America were together.

"We are short one person. Can go and get our older brother here to help us?" Canada said, soft blue eyes glinting and his curl twitching.

"Ya, just make it fast," I replied, feeling my own curl twitch.

Canada nodded and walked outside to bring his older brother to my house to help.

A bit later, Canada came back with another teenage boy who had shaggy blond hair, very thick eyebrows, and emerald green eyes. He was wearing mostly green, except for a few black spots on his outfit.

"Hello, there mate. My younger brother has told me of some new people in town who need help fixing their house up. I'm assuming that that's you?" he said, green eyes flicking from person to person.

"Yes. I'm Norway and this is my younger brother, Iceland. You are?" I said, deep blue eyes hardening to a deep, icy blue that battled his warm green ones.

"I'm England. I assume that you have met Hong Kong?"

"Yes and I didn't like him that much."

"I don't like him much either but I'm not going to be judgmental."

"You're right, neither am I. Grab a paint roller. It happens to be the last one."

England nodded and grabbed a paint roller.

"What color will we be painting it, aru?" China asked.

"Inside is white and outside is blue, doors and framing will be white," I replied.

It was decided: Japan, Germany, and Italy were going to paint in the basement; China, Poland, and Lithuania were on the main floor; England, Canada, and America were on the second floor; and Denmark, Iceland, and I were outside.

Denmark, Iceland, and I walked outside and I started on the front, Denmark started on the left side, and Iceland started on the right side. Forty five minutes later, we were all at the back of the house and painting. The doors and their frames as well as the window frames were still brown, but they would be white soon.

Once we were finished, we split up to paint the doors and their frames as well as the window frames white. While painting one of the windows on the second floor, I heard shouting from down the street. Whoever was shouting was shooting as well and I could hear people screaming.

"Give us all of your money and possessions!" said one voice; a male.

"Yeah!" said another; another male.

"Give it to us or we will shoot!" said the last; a female.

He could hear kids and women screaming as some of their male family members got shot. I looked to Denmark and then to Iceland.

"Denmark! Come on! Iceland! Stay there!" I said.

"What if you get shot?" Iceland asked.

"If I do then I won't die!"

Iceland nodded and hid in a bush.

Denmark and I climbed down our ladders and ran towards the commotion, Denmark pulling an ax out and I pulled a sword out.

"Heh! You think you can beat us with that! Those are close-range weapons! We have guns! You'll never win!" said the first male, a blond.

"Oh, I can beat you," I said, rolling my eyes at this guys pride, and I sped past him.

At first, it looked as if I hadn't hit him at all, until a large cut formed across his stomach and another across his chest and blood splattered all over the ground as he fell to his knees and then onto his front, his gun flying out of his hand.

The girl screamed and pointed her gun at me, she raised her gun at me and pulled the trigger so quickly that I had no time to process what was happening and, even though she was aiming at my head, she missed and hit me in the stomach.

I let out a shocked cry and fell onto my hands and knees, holding my stomach. I let out a pained groan as I felt the blood dripping through my fingers and heard it land on the ground. I had lost quite a bit of blood by now.

I heard a slashing sound and the girl fall on the ground and the last guy let out a terrified yell and shoot at Denmark, who got shot and let out a pained grunt and stumbled backwards. I heard the last guy get shot with what sounded like a hunting rifle. When I looked up, Denmark was holding his shoulder, which was bleeding, as well as his ax and Canada was jumping out of one of the second floor windows. Canada ran over to me and helped me up, wrapping my arm around his shoulders and wrapping his own arm around my waist. He then picked my sword up and helped me inside, dropping the sword on the floor and walking over to a wall with me. By now, I had already lost a lot of blood.

"Omg, like, you got shot! Are you okay?" Poland asked me.

"Ya," I muttered with much trouble.

"Don't try talking," Germany said.

Canada leaned me against a wall that wasn't painted and looked to his older brother.

"Get a med-kit!" he said to England.

England nodded and ran out of the house, coming back later with a medical kit. Canada already had tweezers held right by my wound and was carefully putting it in to remove the bullet. England placed the med-kit next to Canada and looked at me.

"You will be okay; my brother is a professional doctor," he said.

I nodded, staring at him through clouded and unreadable eyes. They had no idea how much pain I was in. Iceland was suddenly next to me, holding my hand tightly.

"I told you that you would get shot!" Iceland said.

"I knew that I would – " I suddenly stopped talking, feeling the pain in the gunshot wound grow more intense and coughing up blood.

"I told you not to try to talk!" Germany said again, but with much more sternness than before.

I leaned my head back and nodded my head.

"If you knew that you would get shot then why did you go?" Iceland asked.

"He wanted to help the people!" Denmark said.

Suddenly, all went silent as Canada finally grabbed hold of the bullet with the tweezers and started pulling it out of my stomach. I winced in pain and let out a small whimper as it was pulled out from my stomach. He dropped in into a little bottle that he had once it was pulled out and opened the medical kit. He cleaned out the gunshot wound and unwrapped the other bandage that was keeping my broken ribs in place and re-wrapping it, as well as the gunshot wound.

He then stood up and looked at Denmark, who was still holding his bleeding arm. He walked over to him and took the bullet out of his arm, dropping it into the same jar that he dropped the other bullet into, and then cleaned the wound out, wrapping it tightly with a bandage.

"Well, I'm guessing that Norway can't help us paint anymore. I'll get our father to help us," England said, walking over to me and picking me up.

He carried me outside and walked to his house. He knocked on the door with his knee and waited. A few seconds later, a large man with blond hair, sky blue eyes, and a mean-looking face, and wearing all blue answered the door.

"Father, this boy, a new friend of mine, got shot on the street today. His house isn't ready for him to rest in and he needs rest. I was wondering if he could rest here with Mother and you could help us take care of the rest of his house?" England said, addressing this man formally.

"Ya. What is his name?" He looked like he was glaring at me, just as I would have looked like I was giving him a cold death stare if I was looking up at him, but I knew his glare was unintentional.

"Norway."

"I am Sweden and Finland is my wife. Finland will be caring for you while I help get your house ready for your stay."

I nodded weakly.

"Finland! Take Norway inside and take care of him! I will be gone for a little while!"

"Okay!" a shrill male's voice sounded from the kitchen and a blond haired boy with blue eyes walked over; he was Finland.

Finland picked me up out of England's arms and waved to Sweden as he left. He then looked down at me.

"Sweden sure is scary, isn't he?" Finland asked, smiling sweetly at me.

"Ya," I replied, finding barely any strength to speak.

"Well, you should get some rest and then I will give you something easy to eat. Does chicken noodle soup sound good?"

"Mm..."

"I'll take that as a yes." Finland placed me on a bed in a guest room and walked to the door, looking back at me. "If anything happens, just call for me, okay?"

Little did he know that I had already lost consciousness.

* * *

I woke up later, feeling a bit better, but still feeling the pain in my stomach. I sat up on my elbows, wincing a little and looking around the room. The room was small and comfy, not too big and not too small. The bed was comfortable and warm, I didn't want to leave it. I was wearing a white night shirt with sleep pants under it.

Finland wasn't in the room and I could hear him humming from somewhere outside of the room and guessed that he was in the kitchen. I didn't remember much from getting here, just that England had taken me here and a man named Sweden answered the door and called Finland over; I couldn't really remember any conversation before then.

I heard someone walking towards the door and quickly laid down on my back, pulling the covers up to my chin and closing my eyes.

The door opened quietly and someone stepped in.

"Oh, he's still asleep. I guess that I'll wait for him to wake up and give this to him warm," I heard Finland say.

I decided to open my eyes just at that time and turn my head to look at him. He was about to turn and walk out when I looked over but he spotted me look at him and stopped, eyes lighting up and mouth curving up into a kind smile.

"You're awake! I was going to give you something to eat because I figured you'd be hungry, especially since you've been asleep for almost..." he looked up to think, placing a finger to his chin. "... ten hours?"

"Ten hours? That's not too long, considering I've been hurt worse and have been out for longer," I murmured, trying not to talk too loudly as I remembered my consequences for speaking loudly.

"Are you feeling any better?" Finland walked to the side of my bed, pulling a chair over and sitting on it.

"Ya, only a bit though." I blinked up at him and looked at the food; it was chicken noodle soup.

"That's good, even though you're not feeling the best, you're still feeling better and that means that your body is making progress in healing!"

"You're an optimistic one." I sat up on my elbows again, wincing at the pain I felt, and scooted back so that I could lean on the wall that was behind the bed I was laying on.

"Are you hungry?"

After a moment of thinking, my stomach answered for me by letting out a low grumbling sound that indicated I was hungry.

Finland replied by letting out a small giggle and placing the food in front of me on a tray.

"You want to talk about what happened out there? I heard gunshots," Finland said. "If you don't want to talk about it then I won't pry."

"I'll talk about it," I replied, taking a bite of the soup and smiling at the delicious taste, realizing that it was home-made, not from a can.

"What happened?"

"I was painting the outside of my brother and my own house with my friend and brother and heard gunshots and people yelling at the citizens to give up all of their money and valuable items. Me and my friend went to check it out and decided to help the citizens. Of course, my brother told me that I might have gotten shot. I ended up killing one of the bandits but got shot in the stomach. My friend killed the one who shot me and got shot himself, except in the shoulder. Canada shot the last bandit from the window and then took care of our wounds."

"Oh. Canada _has_ always been a good bounty hunter."

"He told me."

Finland nodded.

I continued eating the soup that he had made for me and glanced up at him. He had a slight smile on his face.

"Well, at least you're okay, right?" Finland said.

"Ya," I replied, continuing to eat the soup.

By the time I had finished the soup, Finland looked pretty tired.

"Thank you for taking the time to make me some food, but you must get some sleep now," I said to Finland.

"You're welcome, it was no trouble, really," Finland replied sleepily.

I nodded and Finland grabbed my bowl gently, standing up and walking out of the room, saying his good night to me. I heard him head into the kitchen and place the bowl into the sink and then go upstairs.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.


End file.
